The Canadian Payments Association (CPA) and its member financial institutions will be implementing a new cheque processing system using image technology. This industry wide initiative will make cheque clearing more efficient by capturing images of cheques so that they can be cleared electronically. In today's payment system about 5,000,000 paper cheques must be physically transported between financial institutions each business day. In the new system images of cheques will be captured so that information can be cleared electronically. At the heart of this project lies the cheque itself. In order to enhance processing efficiencies and be able to reproduce quality documents for business and consumers, cheques need to be image friendly. In other words, cheques need to be "photogenic" and key elements on a cheque need to be in a standardized location.

The cheque redesign is a key element of the CPA's cheque imaging project.

What's New....

CHANGES IN CHEQUES TO MEET NEW CPA 2007 COMPLIANCE:

1. Manual Cheques.

Space is provided in the shape of boxes on manual cheques to write date in DD/MM/YYYY format. You can write the date yourself in that designated area.

2. Computer Cheques (Laser/Continuous)

The date (DD/MM/YYYY) on these cheques is printed by your accounting software, rather you manually writing it. The accounting software prints the date automatically on the designated space. Therefore, no boxes are provided on those cheques.

The boxes are provided on manual cheques only.

1. Physical Change: Maple has changed Front and back of Cheques completely to meet new CPA compliance effective June 30, 2007.

2. Software Change: Customer must contact their Software developer to get new CPA – 2007 compliant update.
   
   If your software does not print Date, Amount Pay to: at certain location on your Cheque your Cheque will not meet CPA compliance. To pass CPA compliance, your Cheques must be up-dated with (Physical Change done by Maple and Software Change done by customer)
   
   For Testing: Print a Laser Cheques with your current software and compare with our Laser Cheque shown above. Does Date and amount print similar
   to sample shown above? (note the items printed in the yellow area)
         
   **Many customers are sending Cheques printed by Maple to their bank to get them approved for CPA compliance. ( All Cheques printed by Maple Printing are guaranteed to meet new CPA Compliance. Cheques sent to Bank for approval are no good if your Software is not being up-dated. )

Key changes to the cheque specifications include: Adoption of a numeric date field in one of two specified formats (MMDDYYYY or DDMMYYYY). Field indicators must be printed below the date field to indicate which format is being used. A mandatory serial number in the MICR line encoded on the bottom of the cheque (until now the serial number has been optional) An increase in the minimum length of a cheque from 6" to 6¼" to ensure there is sufficient space to accommodate the mandatory serial number in the MICR line Standardized positions for key fields on the cheque, such as the date field and the amount in figures Disallowance of elements that may hinder the capture of images or data from the cheques (e.g. inverse printing, italics or slanted fonts, a bottom border printed below the MICR line and the use of black carbon on the reverse of cheques will not be permitted) New printing requirements on the reverse of the cheque so that image capture can be verified A provision to ensure that security features like holograms do not interfere with key data or "areas of interest" Some revisions to technical specifications to ensure high quality images can be captured

All cheques must conform to the new specifications by June 30th, 2007.

What the New Cheque Standards Means to You The changes to the new CPA Standard 006 doesn't change how consumers or businesses write cheques. Instead, it impacts how cheques are processed by financial institutions. By enabling financial institutions to scan paper cheque and send images to electronic processing, CPA Standard 006 creates more efficient ways of processing cheques.

How will you benefit from these changes?

	Cheques aren't going away. CPA Standard 006 supports the use of cheques by creating a more efficient processing system. With a more streamlined process, cheques will clear faster. A cheque could be posted in hours instead of days.
	CPA Standard 006 will help financial institutions to more quickly detect cheque fraud.
	Customers won't have to wait for their bank statements - on-line access to cheque images will permit quick and easy reconciliation of bank accounts.
	Customers will benefit from timely notification of unpaid cheques and can commence collection action right away.
	Customers will likely require less physical space to store cheque images than original cheques.

How Maple is responding Since the CPA Standard 006 does not take effect until June 30th, 2007, not all small businesses will see changes immediately in their cheque design. Some financial institutions will be early adopters of the new cheque technologies and others will implement changes more gradually. The impact of CPA Standard 006 will be more apparent as June 30th, 2007 approaches. As the leading supplier of business cheques in Canada, Maple has been working closely with the CPA to ensure that all business cheques will be compliant to the new standards. Maple is taking a very proactive role in changing over to the new cheque format. After June 30th 2007 all manual business cheques will be formatted to the new design. In the coming months laser and continuous computer cheques will be redesigned to accommodate the new cheque standard. Here are some of the ways we are preparing to make the transition easier: Product and Image Quality: Maple is committed to image quality and our products are designed and tested with the most advanced diagnostic equipment to ensure that our cheques meet or exceed industry standards. Education: CPA Standard 006 will likely cause some confusion among consumers. Education is the key. As changes develop, Maple will monitor and update our tools and resources to make the transition easier for you. Cheque Security and Fraud Prevention: Maple is testing existing and new security features to ensure that cheques remain one of the most popular and safe methods of payment.

Impact to Cheque Operations: CPA Standard 006 will encourage automation and provide a more streamlined approach to cheque processing.